Published 11:13 am, Monday, August 3, 2015

Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor

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Ruby Dailey holds an old pair of shorts in front of the mirror to show how much weight she has lost. Dailey said she has lost 100 pounds by eating healthy and exercising.
Photo taken Thursday, July 30, 2015
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise less

Ruby Dailey holds an old pair of shorts in front of the mirror to show how much weight she has lost. Dailey said she has lost 100 pounds by eating healthy and exercising.
Photo taken Thursday, July 30, 2015 ... more

Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor

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Ruby Dailey holds an old pair of shorts in front of the mirror to show how much weight she has lost. Dailey said she has lost 100 pounds by eating healthy and exercising.
Photo taken Thursday, July 30, 2015
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise less

Ruby Dailey holds an old pair of shorts in front of the mirror to show how much weight she has lost. Dailey said she has lost 100 pounds by eating healthy and exercising.
Photo taken Thursday, July 30, 2015 ... more

Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor

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Photo taken
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise

Photo taken
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise

Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor

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Ruby Dailey said she has lost 100 pounds by eating healthy and exercising. Now retired from a state job, Dailey said she is spends at least 30 minutes exercising most days of the week.
Photo taken Thursday, July 30, 2015
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise less

Ruby Dailey said she has lost 100 pounds by eating healthy and exercising. Now retired from a state job, Dailey said she is spends at least 30 minutes exercising most days of the week.
Photo taken Thursday, ... more

Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor

Image 5 of 19

Ruby Dailey holds an old pair of shorts to show how much weight she has lost. Dailey said she has lost 100 pounds by eating healthy and exercising.
Photo taken Thursday, July 30, 2015
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise less

Ruby Dailey holds an old pair of shorts to show how much weight she has lost. Dailey said she has lost 100 pounds by eating healthy and exercising.
Photo taken Thursday, July 30, 2015
Guiseppe Barranco/The ... more

Ruby Dailey doesn't think the numbers that represent her weight-loss journey impress that many people.

At 66, Dailey lost 100 pounds.

"When you say 100 pounds, people don't think it's that much," she said.

But, Dailey offered up a remarkable comparison.

"My coach weighs 120 pounds," she said. "I almost lost her."

The Port Arthur woman's determination to stay fit recently prompted her coaches at the Nederland Curves to nominate her for a national award through SilverSneakers, a program that provides free gym memberships for people 65 and older.

Dailey is in the lead for the 2015 Richard L. Swanson Inspiration Award's online voting contest, which concludes Friday.

Dailey, like a lot of other people, said she has always struggled with her weight.

She had a stressful job, being deployed to disaster areas after hurricanes or other natural or man-made catastrophes.

It was a lot of walking, but it was also a lot of late nights eating junk food.

Weighing somewhere between 250 and 260 pounds, Dailey said she struggled getting into the raised first responder vehicles.

"Have you ever tried to heft 100 extra pounds up?" she said.

This lifestyle didn't leave Dailey with much time for healthy eating or exercise.

"You couldn't take care of yourself," she said. "You had to take care of everyone else."

Now retired for two years, Dailey said she spent her first year of retirement just resting.

She moved in with her son and his family.

She cooked and helped out around the house, but when asked to go out and do something, Dailey always said "no."

After that first year, Dailey got her SilverSneaker membership and was finally ready "to do something."

"I didn't want to sit in my recliner for the rest of my years," she said.